Love wears different shades,
Not like the rainbow, not like the sky,
But like the strawberry high up in the tree
Far enough that I can't reach it,
But close enough that I can see it,
The colors, the softness, the way it glows.
First, it's white, and light pink
So calm, almost like it knows It's growing, it's settling in,
Like it's sure of where it's going.
A quiet, seniority in its touch,
A tenderness that feels like it's meant to last.
But then
It starts to turn,
Deep red, full of fire,
Passionate, alive,
Until it isn't just love,
But something else, something that hurts,
Something in between,
And when it's not from both sides,
You see it—the mould,
It starts to grow,
Spreading like poison through the sweetness,
Slowly, quietly, destroying
Everything that was once good,
Everything that could have been.
It never helps.
It never feels right.
It never ends in a way
That doesn't leave you broken.
Love wears its colors,
And sometimes,
It's the wrong shade
At the wrong time.

Nubisha Rabya Topote, a class 10 student at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, is a budding poet who finds inspiration in every opportunity to write.